Saturday, September 4, 2010

Every Saturday, we post a piece from the CHG archives. This one is from January 2009.

A few weeks ago, we posed a question to CHG readers, asking what kind of posts y’all would like to see more of in 2009. Overwhelmingly, the response was: easy, one-dish meals that make excellent leftovers, posted alongside gratuitously good-looking pictures of George Clooney. (I may have added that last part.)

It was a challenge, but I think we may have come up with a few ideas, thus fulfilling your wildest frugal foodie dreams. (We’re also very modest.)

It’s a big internet out there, and there are several billion interpretations of “one-dish meal,” so our first step was narrowing the field. Here were our initial criteria:

The whole meal – vegetables, starch, and meat (if included) – had to come to the table in a single pot, skillet, bowl, or dish. This DOES NOT mean it was entirely prepared in one implement. (Though quite a few meals are, and those have a ** next to them.)

The meal shouldn’t require additional side dishes, breads, rice, or other accompaniment.

The meal had to be relatively balanced, meaning no all-vegetable, all-meat, or all-starch dishes, a la macaroni and cheese.

Preparation and dishes had to be kept to a reasonable minimum. Chopping an onion, salting an eggplant, or sautéing a chicken breast was allowed. Creating a from-scratch, two-hour tomato sauce before adding it to a dish: not so much. (This killed a lot of lasagnas.)

No Cream of Mushroom, Chicken, or Whatever soups allowed. Because I hate them.

No thin soups, salads, pizzas, sandwiches, or slow cooker dishes were included, mostly because they’re subjects for another post. Stews were okay. (Logic? Not allowed, either.)

If a recipe wouldn’t be any good the next day, it was disqualified. (This ruled out a lot of egg dishes.)

As always, if the dish came from an aggregate site with ratings (All Recipes, Epicurious, etc.), it must have had at least an 85% approval from reviewers.

“Cheap” and “healthy” parameters were determined however we usually do it on this blog. (Meaning: low fat, low calorie, and otherwise subject to our whims. Muahahahahahahaha!)

Needless to say, after hours of searching, we found a LOT of chilis and pasta dishes. They’re all listed below, along with various bakes, casseroles, rice dinners, meaty mains, full-on veggie deals, and quite a few bean-based meals. To reiterate, if a recipe can be prepared using just one heating implement (one pot, one pan, one skillet, etc.) there are two stars (**) next to it.

The list is by no means definitive, but it’s a nice start. Readers, please add your suggestions in the comments section, using the guidelines listed above. When we’re done, this is going to rule.